In the manufacture of a photovoltaic device, semiconductor material is deposited on a glass substrate. As a result of this deposition, one face and the edges of the substrate can be coated with the semiconductor material. In order to produce a photovoltaic device, it is desirable to remove the deposited semiconductor material from the edges of the substrate and from the peripheries of the coated face of the substrate. Sandblasting can be utilized to remove the robust semiconductor material coating at the peripheries and edges of a photovoltaic device.